SSH: remote login returns "invalid user"

[brownh <brownh@historicalMaterialism.info>]

Sorry for a FAQ, but I searched around without sucess. I'm runing
debian a local LAN and can ssh between the hosts without a
problem. However, I intend to use one host remotely (a laptop that I
want to use to access my home machine). I do not have password
encryption set up. My LAN is three machines connected to a common hub
using the same domain name.

I ssh successfully between local hosts on my LAN in this fashion: 

  $ ssh -X account@localhostname

To prepare for taking my laptop into the field, I try this to access
my home machine (server):

  # ssh -X account@domainname

In the server's /var/log/auth.log I get:

  Sep 10 13:04:37 engels sshd[27266]: Failed none for invalid user
  brownh from 192.168.1.4 port 33279 ssh2 

Here the password is "none", which suggests to me that is is not
getting the password, although it is typed in at the Password:
prompt. Then the user brownh (my account on the client host which is
initiating the ssh connection) is not valid, although the its IP
address is right. 

Haines Brown